Encore: The sisters and brothers throw themselves into Christmas

Last year's two-part Christmas story, revisited in one place.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

The sisters and brothers throw themselves into Christmas

"The trappings of Christmas must be perfectly executed," Ambulancia
declared to all within earshot, which included passers-by who looked up,
startled, and quickened their steps. "I know perfection when I see
it. I just can't say ahead of time what it will look like." This bit
of last-minute holiday drama concerned traditional crackers presented to
each guest atop their dinner plate at the Christmas table. While her
mother suggested the manufacturer's decorations were quite festive and
would disappoint no one, Ambulancia, joined in protest by her sister
Sireena, insisted on what she referred to as "tarting them up" with
trimmings that would render them extravagant works of art. Nothing less
would do.

Once again, tulle became a material of choice, along with double-faced
satin ribbons, gold German Dresden trims and ornaments, Victorian scrap
images, sequins, glitter, cotton batting fruit and birds and additional
bits of scissored crepe paper. Fortunately, the girls always created in
their room, their atelier as they called it, so the already tidy parlor with its slightly strange but mostly wondrous tree would remain undisturbed.

As had been the case at Thanksgiving, Ellington and Henri's parents
found it necessary to be "away" at Christmas, some muttered explanation
about a distant, aging and slightly gaga relative or some precarious
businss assignation in a wintery, remote locale which, they were sure,
would cause the boys hardship. It was no hardship at all to stay over
with their best friends for the entire vacation. They rolled up their
sleeves and tested the glue guns for readiness.

Though it may have seemed to the untrained eye that the sisters
procrastinated, plunging into last-minute flurries of holiday
preparations in general, that was not the actual truth. They had made
all their gifts weeks ago, wrapped them, helped decorate the house,
baked, gone to the movies twice with the brothers and eaten lunch in a
downtown coffee shop. They were not idle nor forgetful. it was simply
that when Ambulancia opened the box of Christmas crackers, she felt her
heart sink just a bit and could not bear to think of that happening to
their guests. "Presentation," she exclaimed. "Delight the eye, create
anticipation. Much of Christmas is anticipation. We will not
disappoint."

Thursday, December 24, 2015

The sisters and brothers throw themselves into Christmas, part 2

As long as there was someone at home, the girls insisted that any and
all Christmas lights be turned on regardless of the time of day. So it
was that they crafted beneath the softened glow of a treasured old
Santa, putting finishing touches on the now highly adorned crackers for
tomorrow's table.

With one of her favorite holiday magazines beside her, should she need
inspiration, Ambulancia sniggered and snorted at the photo of an
impossibly lavish cracker, saying in her poshest voice, "Oh, Ree, did we
include the Faberge eggs in the crackers this year? I may have
forgotten them. We'll need to start over." Her sister answered,
"Yep. Forgot them. I guess they'll wait for next year." Snigger,
snort, heh heh. "A witty motto, plastic charm and, my favorite, the
paper hat, will have to do. I love when we all have on our hats.
Nobody thinks they're too silly to wear. We know the best sports, don't
we?"

NOT the sisters' Christmas cracker.

"Will you ask our Dad if he's ready to take us to deliver presents?" the
older sister asked Ellington. Unlike the girls method of, no other
word for it, bellowing from room to room, the Garrick brother went and
found Mr. Charpentier in his den and asked if he was ready to drive them
around to exchange gifts with their friends. "Yes!" he told him.
"Yes. And then a tour of the neighborhood lights after, how does that
sound?"

"I feel a bit selfish," he told Ellington and Henri, who had joined
them, "having the company of you guys while your parents have to be off
in the Black Hole of Calcutta or some dismal place without you at
Christmas. Lucky us, I wouldn't trade." His genuine kindness, his
enthusiasm for having the fellows to balance all the female influences
on every matter, always made the brothers feel they were as good as at
home.

Turning off the lighted decorations, Mrs. Charpentier rounded up all the
siblings, each carrying a small, paper-handled bag of presents to be
dropped off. The first year their father asked if they needed a ride to
their friends' houses, the girls clapped with delight. They also
jumped, just a bit, and may have let out a shriek. Christmas was so
much fun.

With the mysterious packages, some of which were exceedingly lumpy,
patterned paper wrapped around the contents like a second skin,
exchanged, following rather extended chats on front porches and some
familiarly shrill exclamations, all were back in the car. It was
officially Christmas eve, the sun had set and lighted trees filled front
windows on every block. Following their tradition, they stopped to get
hamburgers to eat en route while they rode through the evening,
visiting their favorite neighborhoods, the ice cream family's mansion
lit up brighter than a Hollywood premier, the towering deodar trees
beneath which all cars drove with headlights off.

"I remember the first time I was able to fall asleep on Christmas eve,"
Mrs. Charpentier said. "I was so disappointed when I woke up. I felt
as though I'd lost Christmas, I'd lost the child I had been. But I was
wrong. She's still here," she laughed. "You girls and your father
helped rescue her from having to be too grown up." She blew kisses
toward them all. "Thank you," she said.

"Being able to fall asleep when it's Christmas," Sireena said, "I can't
even imagine. How awful that must have been for you." Her mother
nodded.

As they wound their way home, the children examined the presents they'd
been given and thought of what they would do before going to bed as late
as possible. One thing they loved to do and not just on Christmas eve
was lie on the floor under the tree in the darkened room and look up
through the branches at the lights and they way they were reflected by
ornaments and tinsel. It seemed like a wishing place, a fairy place of
pine scent and candles. There would be carols playing softly and
everyone knew, not just believed but knew, that the best things were
entirely possible.

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“i want to think
again of dangerous
and noble things.
I want to be light
and frolicsome.
i want to be improbable
beautiful and
afraid of nothing
as though I had
WINGS.”
-- Mary Oliver
"The whole of life lies in the verb seeing."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
(1881 - 1955)